Design governance and the university: assessing design excellence of university developments

Ensuring high-quality urban design and architecture is a goal of planning systems in Australia and beyond. As such, urban design and architectural review, as a form of design governance, has been incorporated into planning processes, allowing public sector stakeholders to shape development activities in efforts to ensure the delivery of high-quality design. In New South Wales design excellence criteria are embedded in statutory planning policy and guide the assessment of large-scale developments, including those undertaken by universities. Drawing on interviews with university property staff, architects, planning consultants, and government planners, this paper reveals the contested and complex nature of design review. This paper investigates how design excellence is assessed for university developments, comparing two design review pathways: external planning-led reviews and internal university-led reviews. While external planning-led review is intended to provide independent, expert-led evaluation, stakeholders reported concerns about inconsistency, panel overreach, and misalignment with institutional goals. These challenges were intensified given the unique nature of university developments. In contrast, internal university-led review offered greater control and opportunities for co-design processes which deliver developments that better align university objectives.